Tuesday, December 25, 2007

An intense actor and director make for a fiery combination in 'Blood.'

"THERE Will Be Blood," the joint venture between actor Daniel Day-Lewis and director Paul Thomas Anderson, might be the most incendiary combination since the Molotov cocktail. Though it can be over the top and excessive, this morality play set in the early days of California's oil boom also creates considerable heat and light and does some serious aesthetic damage.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Sitting down with indieWIRE earlier this month in New York City for a one-on-one conversation about "There Will Be Blood," the exceptional new film that dominated iW's 2007 film critics' poll, American auteur Paul Thomas Anderson caught a first glimpse of Upton Sinclair's re-issued 1920s novel, "Oil!" resting on a small table nearby. Examining the book's cover, he groused briefly about the need to place an image of Daniel Day-Lewis on the front of the book, explaining that he had intially hoped the promotional item could be re-released with that same simple cover that first caught his eye in a London bookstore years ago. Picking up the book back in Britain started him on the long journey to making his epic new film.

Sinclair's novel is at the core of "There Will Be Blood," its script loosely adapted by P.T. Anderson from essentially the book's first 150 pages or so. But, to flesh out his story about the emergence of a powerful California oil baron who f inds himself at odds with a skillful young preacher leading a growing congregation, Anderson spent years immersing himself in the history of oil in America, studying photographs and visiting numerous museums dedicated to the subject. He also relied on Margaret Leslie Davis' biography of infamous oil tycoon Edward Doheny, The Dark Side of Fortune. Anderson's rich story -- opening in limited release on Wednesday, Dec. 26th -- examines a dynamic intersection of oil and religion, family and greed, driven by capitalism and corruption. Connections to America one hundred years later are subtle but striking.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON is one of a handful of auteurs who is actively evolving the cinematic language. Known for his nerve-jangling urban stories (set usually in the San Fernando Valley), his new film, "There Will Be Blood," is inspired by "Oil!," an Upton Sinclair novel about the burgeoning petroleum industry in turn-of-the-century California. To star in his first period piece, a dark, propulsive character study, Anderson landed Daniel Day-Lewis.

In a suite at the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills to talk about the movie, which opens in Los Angeles on Dec. 26, the two notoriously media-shy artists are disarmingly loose and engaging. Day-Lewis, with shaggy, graying hair, golden hoops in his ears and tattoos covering his right arm, liberally interjects mischievous remarks into the conversation. Anderson is unshaven and rumpled, and radiates the youthful energy of someone who is still very much in love with film.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The Moving Image Source has made an Mp3 Interview featuring Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Thomas Anderson on their website. Their description:

Daniel Day-Lewis's magnificent performance as the ambitious and ruthless oil tycoon Daniel Plainview is at the core of Paul Thomas Anderson's critically acclaimed movie There Will be Blood. In this discussion, which followed a Museum of the Moving Image preview screening of the film, the actor and director playfully and thoughtfully discussed their intense collaborative process.

You can listen to the interview here or for less entertainment, read the html or pdf versions of the transcript which are also provided under the audio links on their page.

Monday, November 19, 2007

P. T. Anderson's fifth movie There Will Be Blood has very little in common with his previous four in that there's very little deliberate humor in its exploration of the early days of the oil drilling business in California as told through the rise and fall of oilman Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), whose oil drilling business is thriving until he arrives at the ultra-religious town of Little Boston and finds himself in conflict with their young evangelical minister Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). Even as the town proves to be a bonanza of oil profits, Plainview's personal life takes a downturn as the important things in his life like family succumb to his greed and lust to find oil.

Anderson and actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano held a press conference in New York City to talk about the movie that was inspired by Upton Sinclair's novel "Oil!" and ComingSoon.net was there to take notes.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

IN 1976, WHEN HE WAS 19, Daniel Day-Lewis, who is British and was trained in the grand theatrical tradition of Shakespeare and the classics, saw “Taxi Driver” and, despite the considerable weight and seeming obligation of his heritage, realized that what he longed to be was an American actor. “It was a real illumination,” Day-Lewis told me late in August as he sat at the rough wood dining table of a duplex apartment in downtown Manhattan, where he and his wife, Rebecca Miller, and their two boys stay when in New York. “I saw ‘Taxi Driver’ five or six times in the first week, and I was astonished by its sheer visceral beauty. I just kept going back — I didn’t know America, but that was a glimpse of what America might be, and I realized that, contrary to expectation, I wanted to tell American stories.” It was raining hard outside, and Day-Lewis, who has the look of an elegant vagabond, was wearing clothes seemingly chosen many years ago for their utility and subtle details. His loose denim jeans were worn soft and white by use and the once-vibrant red plaid of his shirt had aged into a warm maroon. Day-Lewis is tall and lean and has tattoos circling his lower arms and the permanently inked handprints of his and Miller’s two sons climbing up his body to his shoulders. There were gold loops in each earlobe, and although he had left his sturdy, beat-up leather work boots outside the front door and was padding around in his socks, Day-Lewis still had a kind-of-jaunty porkpie hat on his head. The hat covered his long black hair and set off the contours of his face, which is dominated by his noble, bashed nose.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

There Will Be Music''There Will Be Blood'' director Paul Thomas Anderson and composer Jonny Greenwood (a.k.a. Radiohead's guitarist), chat about their unique collaboration on December's historical epic

At or near the top of most cinephiles' list of the most exciting filmmakers working today is Paul Thomas Anderson. Fill in ''music fans'' and ''bands'' in the above construction, and Radiohead is the no-brainer choice to end that sentence. Now, Anderson and Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood have teamed up. The director of such landmark films as Boogie Nights and Magnolia enlisted one of the main creative forces behind such landmark albums as OK Computer and Kid A to score the highly anticipated There Will Be Blood (opening Dec. 26). There will be strings... often abrasive, dissonant, disturbing, and always very loud strings.

Blood marks a departure for both mavericks, though maybe even a little more so for Anderson, who'd never done a period piece before tackling this tale of a misanthropic oil man (Daniel Day-Lewis) in California at the turn of the last century. Though it's not widely known, Greenwood is no neophyte to orchestration, having done one film score before (for an experimental documentary called Bodysong), in addition to being commissioned by the BBC to compose a piece called ''Popcorn Superhet Receiver,'' which is excerpted in Blood and helped get him this gig.

If you can't wait for the film to hit theaters at Christmas time, a soundtrack CD on Nonesuch will precede the movie. But if you really, really can't wait, EW got the two collaborators on the phone together, trans-Atlantically, to talk about their collaboration.

Monday, October 01, 2007

The most talked about deleted sequences revolve around the "Worm" subplot. This involves five characters from the film:
Marcie
Her Husband (The Dead Guy in the Closet)
The Worm (Marcie's Son)
Dixon (Worm's Son/Marcie's Grandson)
Stanley Spector
Dixon was featured prominently in the teaser trailer ("I'm Dixon") & this subplot was included in the preview screening done in Australia in late August 1999 & Fall 1999 in New York (critics screenings).

Here are some of PTA's comments on why it was cut out:
"there was more of that, and I took it out, but here's the thing. I stand by the fact that it does function really well the way it is now. It is the most truncated and elliptical bit of the movie, but I thank God that there is something truncated and elliptical in the movie, which does pretty much hit its points. The movie needs something that has mystery, and this one is sort of a representation of spending a couple of days in the Valley: that's how much color would come into your life."
Courtesy of Nitrate Online - Cynthia Fuchs - 1/7/00

Here's the complete script excerpt. As you know, Magnolia is constantly switching back & forth between the various plots & characters. To make things easier, I've combined all the various segments below (with a quick description of where they fit in the movie).

(After Kurring loses gun, during
Partridge's monologue)

INT. HOLDING ROOM - THAT MOMENT

CAMERA pushes in on Marcie. She's crying and looking down.
She lifts her head, speaks to an UNSEEN OFFICER nearby, guarding
her cell;

MARCIE
I wanna confess what I've done.

(Frank meets Phil right before his "reunion" with
Earl)

INT. LAMPLIGHTER - THAT MOMENT

CAMERA with Stanley, sitting alone in a booth with a Coke and a cookie.
He's reading a book. BEAT, HOLD, THEN:

CAMERA pans/dollies away and booms up -- moving across the
restaurant -- across the way, sitting in a booth by the opposite
window, out of view from Stanley;

Dixon, the little kid from earlier, sitting in a booth with a
young black male, WORM (20s) This is clearly the back figure
we've been seeing glimpses of --

Then he gets out, walks back across parking lot...and into the
concealed parked car he came from –

(Jimmy confesses to Rose)

INT. LAMPLIGHTER - THAT MOMENT

Through the window, the AMBULANCE passes in the b.g., heading
nearby...and OC we hear the siren throughout scene;

Stanley looks up at Worm, who's crying harder now, they make
another moment of eye contact. BEAT, THEN:

WORM
Hi.

STANLEY
Hi.

WORM
..sorry...

STANLEY
It's ok.

BEAT.

STANLEY
Are you alright?

Worm looks up.

(Frank with Earl on his deathbed)

INT. LAMPLIGHTER - THAT MOMENT

Worm is in tears, talking to Stanley. SLOW ZOOM IN.

WORM
....you have it...easy....you know?
You have a father who loves you, huh?

STANLEY
Yes.

WORM
You know what it's like to come home
scared, scared that maybe if you don't
have the money you're supposed to
go out each day and get that you're gonna
get beaten....by a belt...he hits me
with a belt, Stanley....

(beat)

I'm supposed to sell those candy bars,
and if I don't, I come home without
the money....

STANLEY
....Why does he do it...?

WORM
Cause he hates me....he hates me so much.

STANLEY
It's not right.

WORM
I hate it.

CU - Worm. He hesitates...looks at Stanley and says:

WORM
I'm sorry to put all this on you, Stanley --

STANLEY
I have money.

WORM
...what...?

STANLEY
I have money to give you.

WORM
No. No. I have to do this on my own.

STANLEY
I can take you to get money. I don't
need it...I don't need it -- listen to me:
I can let you have money so your father
won't hit you ever again -- you'll have the
money because I don't need it.

CAMERA pushes in a little on Worm, he looks up. 30fps.

WORM
Where do you have it?

CAMERA holds 2-shot, looking out the window onto the street.
We PUSH PAST THEM AND THROUGH THE WINDOW, picking up with
a YELLOW CAB as it drives by, PAN with it....

CAMERA holds a wide angle on the Lamplighter Coffee Shop.
Frogs falling from sky onto and around the streets....

CUT TO:

EXT. THE SKY - THAT MOMENT

CAMERA up with the Falling Frogs....CAMERA is moving down with them...
it becomes almost musical....like Busby-Berkely-style choreography of
Frogs That Fall In The Sky...

MUSIC/KERMIT THE FROG
"It's not that easy bein' green...
Having to spend each day the color
of the leaves..."

EXT. EMPTY PARKING LOT AREA - DAWN

CU - Dixon as he gets into the old beat up car with Worm.
Their call pulls away and drives off. Dixon looks at Linda's Mercedes
which is still parked way across the lot -- they exit FRAME.

CUT TO:

EXT. MAGNOLIA - DAWN

Worm's car drives down the street. LONG LENS. ANGLE, at the car,
Dixon leans up and out the window a bit....he's got the gun wrapped
in newspaper, taking the fingerprints from the gun....he throws
the POLICE ISSUED WEAPON from the speeding car...

CUT TO:

INT. LAMPLIGHTER - DAWN

Stanley sits in the back of a squad car....an OFFICER watching
him...probably supposed to be comforting him, but instead drinking
coffee, chatting with other OFFICERS questioning the coffee shop
employees --

(Right after Earl's body is taken away)

INT. POLICE STATION - MARCIE

Marcie looking down at the table in front of her, tape recorder
and microphone in front of her, (and all that goes along w/full
confession/etc.)

MARCIE
I killed him. I killed my husband.
He hit my son and he hit my grandson
and I hit him. I hit him with the ashtray
and he was knocked out and I killed him,
I strangled him. I strangled my husband
to protect my boys. I protected my boys.

A much different, less angry version than what appeared on screen (which isn't nearly as dramatic). This is presented together (the scene would have appeared cut up in the film as it jumps from different storylines).

INT. EARL'S HOUSE - THAT MOMENT

Frank and Phil stand in the foyer. They're quiet a moment, then:

FRANK
So....Phil....um...I think I'm gonna
step in and try and see him and say
something if he can...talk...I mean:

PHIL
...ok...

FRANK
Can you stand...back...maybe, I mean...
just a little bit...in the room is
ok, but back from us a little...

PHIL
yeah.

Frank walks slowly into the Living Room and over to Earl's
bedside. He's holding back his tears. He sits. Earl
is eyes closed, breathing a bit irregular....HOLD.

The DOGS go crazy barking.Phil walks away from Earl and answers
the door.Frank standing there.Phil looks a bit surprised and
fumbles a moment...They stand in doorway and speak very quietly;

PHIL
Hello.Frank.Frank TJ Mackey.

FRANK
...are you Phil...?

PHIL
Yeah. I was trying to get in touch
with you.We got disconnected.

FRANK
I got your message.That you were
trying to get me -- right?

PHIL
Yes.I didn't know how to find you.
Earl asked me, so I looked through
the address books and there was no number,
nothing --

FRANK
Is Linda here?

PHIL
She's not here, she went out.
I'm sorry.This is all just so,
I don't know what, what to do -- your
Dad asked me to try and track you down.
To get you and I did, I called the number --
Do you wanna come in?

FRANK
Yeah let's...maybe just stand.

PHIL
These Dogs'll calm down -- you just
have to come in --

He steps in the door and the dogs start to settle down a bit.

PHIL
He's in here.

FRANK
Let's just wait one minute and stay here, okay?

PHIL
Ok.

BEAT.They stand in the foyer and the dogs eventually calm down
and go away.BEAT.

FRANK
How long have you taken care of him?

PHIL
For six months.I'm the day nurse...

FRANK
Uh-huh.What's going on?

PHIL
He's...I'm sorry...so sorry...I've seen
this before, you know and you don't....
He's going very fast....Frank...um....

FRANK
Is he in pain?

PHIL
I just...he was...but I gave him,
I just had to give him a small dose of
liquid morphine.He hasn't been able to
swallow the morphine pills so we now,
I just had to go to the liquid morphine...
For the pain, you understand?